158: Mechanical modification

After a brief moment of thought regarding Wu Xiang's refusal, Xu Yan simply agreed, "You are right." Then, the human and the spirit beast turned their attention toward the exotic beasts.

After a quick tidy-up, they left the Training Ground and randomly found a Secret Realm whose upper limit was Monarch Rank. They spent some extra academic credits to locate a wolf pack consisting of one Monarch Rank Lower Grade wolf, and about a hundred Wolf-type Exotic Beasts below the Monarch Rank.

They arrived near the wolf pack directly via the Third Academy's Deployment Device.

Because of the Optical Invisibility and Aura-Masking Modules installed on Wu Xiang, Xu Yan and Wu Xiang's arrival did not attract the attention of the wolf pack.

Watching the wolf pack enjoying their meal after a hunt from dozens of meters away, Xu Yan signaled Wu Xiang to target the pack and try using Mechanical Modification on them.

Receiving Xu Yan's signal, waves of invisible fluctuation emanated from Wu Xiang's body. Then, a radiance resembling Moonlight Radiance descended from the sky and landed amidst the wolf pack.

Facing the sudden descent of the light, the wolf pack, which was busy devouring its prey, had no time to react or dodge, and was instantly bathed in the unexpected radiance.

The moment the light enveloped them, all the remaining wolves in the pack whose strength was below the Monarch Rank began to change, with the exception of the Monarch Rank Wolf King, the strongest of them all.

For those below the Commander Rank, their flesh and blood instantly melted away, leaving only skeletons, which were then filled by various metal limbs and bodies converted by the Power of Flesh and Blood, directly transforming them from flesh-and-blood creatures into Mechanical Constructs.

The wolves that had reached the Commander Rank were in a slightly better state; only parts of their bodies became mechanized. Furthermore, depending on their strength and physical toughness, the extent and location of their mechanization varied, leaving the entire exotic beast in a Half-Wolf, Half-Machine state.

The wolf pack underwent an earth-shattering transformation in the instant the light shone upon them, causing the only Wolf King present—who had not yet been affected by Mechanical Modification—to instinctively become alert.

However, due to the exotic beast's inherently limited consciousness, and the fact that a large portion of the pack were its own descendants, the Wolf King's first reaction was to roar, commanding the pack to gather.

Meanwhile, Xu Yan, who was not far away, received additional information from Wu Xiang regarding the skill, Mechanical Modification.

Because exotic beasts naturally possess little consciousness, the "King" of these Mechanical and Half-Mechanical Wolf Packs affected by Mechanical Modification instantly transferred from the Wolf King—the pack's leader and strongest member—to Wu Xiang the moment the change occurred.

In other words, the wolf pack that had undergone Mechanical Modification was now completely under Wu Xiang's control.

Just as Xu Yan was listening to Wu Xiang's additional explanation, the Wolf King nearby noticed that its commands received no response or effect; instead, it was being stared at by pairs of emotionless red eyes, instantly igniting its fury.

With a long howl, it swiftly leaped toward the strongest Half-Mechanical Wolves closest to it, those that had already reached Marshal Rank Upper Grade before mechanization.

Claws imbued with the Power of Heaven and Earth struck the Half-Mechanical Wolves fiercely, intending to display its strength and majesty upon these disobedient "rebels," kill the chicken to warn the monkeys, and regain control of the pack.

Facing the Wolf King's attack, the Half-Mechanical Wolves were instantly sent flying, caught completely off guard.

However, what puzzled the Wolf King was that the wolf-type exotic beasts, which should have been severely injured by its attack, showed no signs of weakened aura when they were sent flying this time. Instead, their aura increased significantly, even making the Wolf King faintly sense a feeling of threat. This was in addition to more parts of their bodies undergoing mechanization.

Despite only being Marshal Rank Upper Grade, they took a furious blow from a Monarch Rank exotic beast without sustaining much damage, aside from the injury to the flesh-and-blood parts which led to further mechanization. The enhancement provided by Mechanical Modification to their physical bodies was evident.

Seeing that the attack did not achieve the desired result, the fury in the Wolf King's heart intensified. Just as it was about to mobilize the surrounding Power of Heaven and Earth to launch an even more powerful strike against the Half-Mechanical Wolves, Wu Xiang made a move.

The Power of Heaven and Earth, which the Wolf King had gathered around itself and attempted to control for a new offensive, instantly lost control and erupted around its body. The Wolf King, "stabbed in the back" by the Power of Heaven and Earth, was instantly severely wounded by the power it had gathered.

The moment the Wolf King was injured, a large amount of metal spread out from the cracked wounds, quickly forming a set of Mechanical Exoskeletons that enveloped the entire exotic beast.

The instant the Mechanical Exoskeleton appeared, the Wolf King, which had been severely wounded but was still frantically struggling to stand, quieted down. Its previously bloodthirsty and furious eyes became calm and emotionless.

Following this, as the Wolf King let out another long howl, the wolf pack that had previously escaped its control returned to its command. They responded with howls of their own and quickly ran to the Wolf King's presence under its instruction, lining up neatly, awaiting orders.

Xu Yan, watching from the side, knew after seeing this scene that control of the Wolf King had also fallen into Wu Xiang's hands. He was curious about the Monarch Rank Wolf King that had undergone Mechanical Modification, but he did not approach the pack immediately.

Instead, he waited for Wu Xiang to confirm multiple times that the wolf pack posed no threat before asking Wu Xiang to disable the Optical Invisibility. The human and the spirit beast then quickly walked toward the pack and stood before the Wolf King.

Watching the Wolf King crouch before him and perform various actions according to his commands, and learning from Wu Xiang about this ability, he realized that for humans or exotic beasts with higher levels of consciousness, the mechanized parts affected by Mechanical Modification would still be controlled by Wu Xiang.

Xu Yan couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion about this.

He had originally thought that there wouldn't be much interaction between himself and Kui Fang anymore, and if there were, the one most deeply affected by him should have been Zhu Yan, the beneficiary after the Eerie Secret Realm destroyed itself.

Unexpectedly, after Zhu Yan devoured the blood-colored giant egg, she merely gained the skill of Blood-Colored Devour. Instead, it was Wu Xiang, who had followed Xu Yan throughout the process and observed Kui Fang's actions and the ultimate fate of the Eerie Secret Realm, who showed a tendency to develop along Kui Fang's path.

This ability—to forcibly modify a target's body without regard for their own will or thoughts, transforming them into mechanical or half-mechanical constructs, and placing them under Wu Xiang's control—was comparable in terms of sheer wickedness to the Puppet Technique that Kui Fang had briefly mentioned before, wasn't it?